Blackout
by BellumTerra
Summary: The blackout was causing people to go insane. No power, no way to communicate to loved ones over seas, post-offices weren't open often, and used for military purposes usually, while us civilians had to figure out how to survive. Not to mention, those creatures I've seen in the woods. Looks like we're fending for ourselves. OCs are included.
1. Odd Dreams

It was practically a living nightmare.  
Only a few weeks ago, the entire world had a blackout. Some theorized it could classify as an EMP, as no electronic devices could function anymore. Thank goodness it was summer, or people would be freezing to death. Well, then again, people were dying of heat stroke. That wasn't too far off from freezing, except one happens in one climate, and another happens in a totally different one.

My name is Bell, and I'm a nyctophobic living in a world-wide blackout.

The world was starting to adjust slowly to the new, electronic-less world we lived in now. We still had our devices, and I checked my computer daily for any signs of life. None. The thing wouldn't even turn on for a millisecond. To make things worse, people who had even slight access to electricity were scouted for by the government to give them all the power they had. But, since no one did, no one was dragged to D.C and asked to work for them. Well, ok, _forced_ to work for them.

I walked through the forests near my home, gun in hand. Afterall, we needed to eat.  
So, wandering around for a while, and unfortunately finding no deer, I sat down at the edge of the pond, feet blistered and sore from the past few days. Usually I wouldn't have a problem with walking around, but thats because I never took long walks. Oh, how I'd love to take a swim in the pond, but the water definitely wasn't safe to drink - let alone swim in - judging by its murky grey-brown color. As I began to stand up, I heard some noises from behind me. Getting out my gun in high hopes it was a deer, I was let down by seeing the face of a squirrel. Sighing, I began to walk away, toes aching. I turned around one last time to see what could be there, when the sight of human movements surprised me. A shadow moving out of the woods, and hopefully they'd have some supplies to share.  
"Hello?" I called, having become a bit more outgoing in the past few weeks of no electricity. As I waited for response, I heard an unearthly groan arise from its throat, the "person" turning around and facing me. They had golden, glowing eyes, and their flesh was rotting and dripping off of their bones. The stench I hadn't noticed before filled my nostrils, and I felt like I was about to vomit back up this mornings breakfast. I aimed my gun as it began to charge for me, firing at the head. Missing, I reloaded and fired again. I got them in the eye just before they were touching the barrel of my gun. Looking down at the corpse before me, I put on some latex gloves I carried with me and began to touch their scalp, feeling the skin slip and tear under my fingers. The sight and feeling was absolutely revolting, and I stood up rather quickly. I tossed the gloves down on the ground next to the corpse, and began to walk up to my house while quite alert. Afterall, there could be more of them.

As soon as I arrived home, I began to type on the typewriter:  
"Day 23.  
Saw no deer today.  
Saw something else entirely instead.  
It looked human, but it was dead.  
It was a dead man walking, which is what terrifies me.  
Afterall, zombies only exist in storybooks.  
Right?"

I took the paper out and set it down ontop of a binder. When the world-wide blackout was finally over, I'd be submitting my logs to a newspaper or to a publisher. Afterall, I had always wanted to be a writer.  
I began to lie down on my couch, closing my eyes and trying to recall the events of last nights dream. It was one I had been having for quite a while, and it scared me somewhat.

In the dream, there was a slightly tall woman with raven black hair and sky-blue eyes, her appearance formal and very business-like. She was speaking, but hardly any of the words registered as English. She seemed frantic, as if in a hurry and having not a lot of time. The dream was mostly a blur other than the words 'find them' and 'untoten'. Untoten could translate to undead, which is what frightened me.

I felt a chill up my spine after remembering the creature I had seen in the woods, and then thought. Could she be speaking of the thing I shot? It looked slightly human, but dead at the same time-  
Those thoughts stopped me, my eyes widening. Maybe, just maybe, she knew something I didn't? But, dreams were just dreams! They didn't mean anything! Well, atleast, I thought so.  
I got up, taking off my boots and wandering through my house. I grabbed a glass from the cupboard and dipped it into a bucket of water, taking a sip. I was glad I had a well on the property, otherwise I'd be as thirsty as some of those city-folk whom didn't know where to get water. I sat down at my kitchen table, the afternoon sun shining through the windows. It was rather hot, but I didn't mind the heat. I grew up in it, afterall.

As soon as night fell, I lit a bunch of candles and sat in my livingroom, reading some old books that I had forgotten about until twenty-three days ago, when the black-out occured. I let the images of knights and princesses and towers and dragons dance in my head, fantasy having always been a favorite genre. It wasn't long until I blew the candles out, using a lantern to wander down my hallway. I lied down in bed, saying a quick prayer I had been saying since I was five, and blew the light out.

The same dream occured, this time more vivid. The woman seemed even more frantic than on previous nights, her eyes wide and her hands moving rapidly in a blur of colors and movement. We were standing in a white room, no colors around us. I often found myself here in dreams when something was wrong, and I never could pinpoint why.  
"Warum kann-" She stopped, seeing I was staring directly at her. Apparently, on previous nights, I hadn't completely acknowledged her existance. She cleared her throat, her words shaking and trembling.  
"A- are you able to- to hear me?" she asked. I gave a nod, and she forced a light smile. She had a bleeding scratch on her arm, and her hair was messy, as if having not been combed for days.  
"G- good. Oh dear, I was starting to think you couldn't even see me!" She said with a forced, nervous laugh. I gave no response, watching her. She began to repeat the message she had been trying to give me for goodness knows how long, this time a bit clearer. Some of her words connected, making sense, as if they were painting a picture in my head. I began to feel a sting in my arm aswell, and she sighed. A dot where a syringe might have poked me appeared on my upper arm, quite close to my shoulder.  
"115's in your veins, you need to be careful." she said, her voice distorted, and sometimes almost a whisper.  
I opened my mouth to respond, staring at her in disbelief. I had studied about element 115, or ununpentium, out of curiosity a few years ago, when I was in highschool, and it was apparently a very dangerous element that had been used in WWII by the nazis.  
"What...?" I asked. But, as soon as she looked like she was going to respond, I awoke.

Staring up at my ceiling, eyes flying open, I remembered only bits of the dream at that point. It was early morning, the mist outside quite thick. I got up, stepping out of my room and into the hallway. It was rather dark, and my mind began to run wild with the possibilites of what could be lurking in the shadows. I tried to shut them out, and kept walking.  
I sat down at my kitchen table, but found my mind going to another topic: 115. Wasn't it radioactive? Wasn't it deadly? Those thoughts filled my head, along with various voices telling me their opinions.

I sighed, getting up and beginning to fix myself some breakfast. Grits was easy enough. I had a campfire area in my backyard, and a flint and steel. I lit the fire, getting out a few cups of water and a bag of grits. I had bought some the day before the blackout, and thank goodness they lasted a while.

After breakfast, it was time to work on some chores. I got up, putting out the fire and walking inside, checking the indoor food supplies and checking how much water I had. It seemed to be good, and the house was clean enough to leave it alone for a little while.  
Grabbing my rifle, I began to wander around the back property. The pasture was green and bright, and it was again a sunny day. I wandered through the forest until I felt a cold chill. No wind was blowing, so it couldn't be a breeze causing this. I kept walking nonetheless, all the way to back where I had killed that... that creature, monster, whatever it should be called, and noticed it had rotted almost completely away. The stench that lingered after the corpse was nearly decomposed was enough to make even the strongest of iron stomachs churn. Running my fingers through my hair, I began to walk around a bit more. It was as if there was another sort of presence in the forest, because I found myself turning to look over my shoulders a lot more than I normally did. I needed to kill a deer soon, since the neighbors wanted to eat aswell. Afterall, if they catch anything big, we all share. If I catch anything big, we all share. We take care of eachother here, which is another reason I'm glad I don't reside in the city, considering it seems its every man for themselves there.  
Gripping my rifle tighter, I stepped down a rather large slope and noticed something; there were ropes hanging, as if tents had been there a while back. The ropes were almost completely rotted by the elements, and judging by the condition of some of the blankets, everything was very old. I looked around, checking over my shoulders once more and walking forward. It wasn't long until I stumbled upon a ragged old diary, and for some reason, something compelled me to read it.  
"Monat, Januar. Tag, 14, 1942."

Monat? Tag?  
It all was written in German, and I couldn't translate some of it right off the bat. Some of it even appeared to be faded away, the ink washed out by rain or something. I put it in my jeans pocket, and began to walk back up to the house. I had an English to German dictionary, and decided to put it to use. My German skills were rather rusty, since I had been learning it in school and forgot most of it once I graduated.  
I set the diary down in my kitchen, going through some books and finding the dictionary after a good while of searching. I began to translate it, and wrote down everything I thought was correct.  
Once I was done, I stared down at what was written. It was clear now that the diary owner wasn't on their side of the war, if it was legit.

"Month, January. Day, 14th, 1942.

I have been here under doctor Maxis's orders for quite a while now, and it appears the experiments are going well. I have learnt how to imitate the southern accent, and am working to get as much 115 through to the operatives in Der Riese via teleportation as fast as possible.  
-Gunther Weiss, M.D"

I read it over several times, not quite believing my eyes. My hands began to tremble, having heard of a Gunther Weiss in my childhood. My grandpa had mentioned him on a few occasions, saying he had been an old friend until the government found out he was a nazi. Then, he was taken away for questioning and never seen again. I chuckled at some of the stories I remembered being told, and then got up. I began to walk to the front door, wanting to have put that away as soon as possible.

Wandering around for quite a while, I stumbled upon the same area I had found the diary at. I felt something drawing me to what appeared to be an overgrown circular structure, probably no bigger than three feet in diameter, and maybe about ten inches tall. I approached, taking some of the branches and leaves off of it. Before 23 days ago, I was a complete germaphobe. Now I didn't mind having blood and dirt on my hands, and it was surprising how one event can change a person.  
I noticed a metallic surface under all of the weeds and the dirt, and began rubbing at the sides. It felt like steel, oddly enough. As soon as I had dusted everything off of it and tugged the weeds off, I stood back and stared at it. It appeared to be a sort of device, that obviously didn't work nowadays. What that woman in my dreams had said to me began to cloud over any other thought; "115's in your veins, you need to be careful." I let those words replay inside my head, my thoughts oriented around that one sentence. I soon shook it off, and began to cover up the device so no one else could find it, if they stumbled upon this camp. I grabbed my rifle, and began to walk when I heard shuffling. Aiming, I saw the same type of figure approaching me like yesterday. I fired a shot at its shoulder, but that made it angry and it let out such a scream that made my blood run cold. I fired once more at the head, and finally shot it in the bridge of the nose with a sickening crack. It fell to the ground, the eyes now white and certainly dead. I sighed, but noticed more. There were two or three more, maybe four, coming out of the woods. They seemed to be screaming, one of them saying 'Sam' as it got close to me.  
Sam? Who's Sam?  
I shot as fast as I could, reloading and firing just in time. The third one nearly got me in the neck, and that would not have ended well. I began to run out of the forest, turning to check for any more. None, thank goodness. I made my way to the small house, setting aside my rifle as soon as I got inside. No more hunting for me today, I decided.


	2. Memories

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of thunder. I sighed, getting out of bed and looking about my room. It was so dark, making me shudder. I hated it so very much, but had no choice but to deal with it. The light from the window wasn't enough to keep me calm, and soon I found myself lighting my lantern and wandering through my house. It wasn't a very large house, but it was good enough to keep me comfortable. I had had the same dream last night, but this time I could remember more. I learnt the womans name, which was Sophia Richardson. She was a secretary for a doctor in WWII, which made me quite surprised. I hoped she was someone my mind had just generated, or else it would be rather odd for someone from that long ago to A, look so young, and B, be able to speak to me via dreams. I had spent my entire night trying to translate the journal, but none of it seemed to piece together quite right. I closed my eyes as I sat down at my kitchen table, recalling the events of day 1.

It had been a peaceful, quiet day. The summer air was warm and welcoming, and yet I spent it inside. I had been on my computer, playing Angry Birds when I got up to get a soda. The instant I stepped into my living room, I felt a cold chill up my spine and a throbbing inside my head. It felt unlike any regular headache, to the point of nearly knocking me unconscious. I had lied down on my love seat and waited for it to go away. As soon as it did, I opened my eyes to find that the lights were out. Thinking I had unintentionally knocked them all out somehow, I got up and walked back to my room. The computer was off, and the room was silent as it could have been. Power outage, I said to myself. But as soon as I did, I heard voices. Many of them. They had been telling me to be prepared, and it seemed as if I was needing, no, required to go to walmart and grab everything off the shelves that could be left alone for long periods of time and still be usable. I didn't understand why, but I took my bicycle to the store instead of my car. I grabbed as much as I possibly could afford, and made sure everything I got was stuff I could use or would need in the future. I had paid and the voices soon told me to go to the gas station and get as much gasoline as I may need, and even go to the hardware store and buy anything I needed in case of an EMP. Nonsense, I had told myself. I thought it was silly, but did was I was told. I had made several trips in and out of town that day, getting everything I may need.

Later that evening, everyone had lit candles and my neighbor had invited me to their house to visit. We spoke for a while, before they explained that the same thing had happened in Germany, minus anyone going and buying things as soon as it happened. We discussed it as if it were a normal occurrence, and began to joke around. I had talked to her for hours about trying to not be afraid of the dark, and soon found myself falling asleep on my friends couch. She awoke me in the morning, telling me that the power wasn't going to be back on for an indefinite amount of time, so I gave them some supplies to help them get through the time without power. We dumped out any food that would rot quickly, especially meat, and then began to restock with canned things. The fridge soon became another cupboard in both our homes.

As soon as I had returned home, I felt the same pulse in my head, and had to lie down again. I haven't felt it since then.

Now, I was in my kitchen and beginning to wonder about some things. How long would this last? Was this the last day without any idea of what would become of us all? Who knows, I said with a shrug. I waited for the storm to subside, before beginning to wander out into the pasture. I took several clips of ammo this time, just in case. I began to recall wandering this path with my grandfather so many years ago, smiling at the old memories.

_"Now, Bell," the elderly man began, walking down into the grassy pasture with his granddaughter. Bell looked up at him, blinking her wide, brown eyes._

_"You're not to forget any of what I'm going to teach you, alright? Its very important that you don't forget, and you practice as much as possible." he said, handing her a stick and some threads, along with some things they were going to use to make a fishing pole. She nodded, sitting down on the grass nearest the pond._

_"I understand, grandpa. But, why do I need to learn this stuff? None of the other girls have to." she said with a frown. He sighed, sitting down not far from her with some of the other supplies needed to make his fishing pole. _

_"Well, I want you to learn to take care of yourself. You'll need it one day, dear." he said with a smile. She nodded, her small fingers beginning to try and figure out how to build the fishing pole. He began instructing her, and soon she had made a slightly good one, but her skills would need work. They began to fish, and she looked up at the sky. She saw a slight golden color sometimes when she stared at anything for very long, and it confused her as to why. He'd say she just needed not to look at anything for too long, and so she'd stop looking at anything after about 20 seconds, knowing that if she stared any longer her vision would make everything turn a bit gold-yellow. _

I sighed happily, sitting at the same spot I had sat at all those years ago. I had been four or five at the time, just old enough to begin learning to defend myself and take care of myself. My parents had disapproved of such training, but it came in handy now. I had learnt so much from grandpa, and he always told me it would come in handy one day and none of the other girls would be able to do anything such as gut a fish and skin a deer. I remember even being teased, saying it was all "mans work" and women had no right to be learning to hunt and fish and build a boat and repair cars. The one thing I learnt to do, but hated doing was laundry out of everything else. Fishing had never been my strong point, as the fish always went somewhere else and ignored me. Hunting was difficult for a while, since I was rather loud as a child, but I eventually learnt to be quiet.

I felt an odd presence, and looked around. I heard a little girl laughing, but couldn't pinpoint where she was. She sounded almost as if she were right next to me, but that couldn't be.

Shrugging and trying to ignore it, I began to recall of when grandpa would show me pictures of his cousin, Tank, and tell me stories about when they were both younger. Tank had gone off to the war, and grandpa stayed behind to look after the family and be sure everyone was alright. They had sent letters back and forth, until Tank eventually stopped responding. He was reported MIA in 1940, and was said to have gone missing somewhere in a swamp in Japan. It was odd, but it was the last grandpa had heard of his cousin.

I got up, beginning to work on finding any berries and some food. I'd been trying to kill some deer for the past few days, but it seemed that was a fruitless effort. I began to work on trying to pick some berries, checking a piece of paper I carried with me to tell if they were poisonous or not. It seemed these were, so I stopped handling them and walked away. I began to look around, sometimes shooting a squirrel or a rabbit if I had the opportunity.

I spent the rest of my afternoon skinning and cooking the squirrels and rabbits I shot, and walked to my neighbors house. My neighbor was a young lady in her early thirties named Jenna-Rose, and me and her were rather close. I walked inside and set the squirrel and rabbit meat on plates after being invited inside, and we began to eat.

"So, did you figure out what could have caused this huge power outage?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. I shrugged, biting into the rabbit.

"Beats me." I said with a chuckle. We finished up lunch and I soon left, walking back across the road to my house. I began to go through my supplies, when I heard an odd noise. I looked out my window to see some sort of a bolt of lightning going down around the area I had found that odd device. I furrowed my brows, but shrugged and ignored it. We had very odd summer storms, this was probably just "one of those things", as I often called it.


	3. Jackson

"Hey, Jackson!"

A young man groaned, hearing his cousin whispering his name and shaking him awake. He looked up, his messy red hair down in his eyes.

"What is it, Tank? Its too early for this." He said, looking over at the grandfather clock. It said it was about 4:32, but it felt more like it was three AM. The blond before him grinned, green eyes wide.

"Get up, I wanna show you something!" he said, helping his red-haired cousin out of bed. The two walked into the living room, quietly tip-toeing as to not awake their parents. The blond known as Tank opened the front door, stepping outside. The cold air greeted both of them, but something was different.

There was snow.

In Mississippi.

Jackson's eyes widened, staring out at the snow that was falling. Tank seemed rather giddy at the sight, having never witnessed something like this in Nevada. He looked around, getting two jackets and some boots from inside. He handed his cousin one of the jackets, and soon they were walking around the yard in their pajamas, Tank leading as they walked down into the pasture and near the pond, which was, to their delight, frozen over, almost solid enough to skate on. Tank chuckled, beginning to toss some snowballs at his cousin. Jackson seemed a bit shocked, but threw some as well. They ended up playing like that for quite a while, the snow being wet and cold. It was nearly sunrise when the two went inside, changing into some warmer clothing and sitting down in the living room, listening to the radio. The day was quite nice, and later on they walked outside and threw more snowballs.

As time went on, the two grew into rather handsome, respectable men in their own way. Tank was a sergeant in the US Marines, and Jackson was a good farmer who always kept his word. They kept in touch in letters, until one day Dempsey wasn't responding at all. This worried Jackson, but he ignored it. He had much to tend to, with his wedding only months away. He had awaited for more letters, but none came. His cousin was reported MIA, and that was the last he heard of him.

Jackson wandered through the woods, not too far from home, when he heard a man talking. Shocked, he began to aim his rifle in the direction the voice came from. He looked, seeing a rather tall man with thick, coppery hair and thick rimmed glasses, leaning against a tree, a notebook in his hand as he began to write. He looked over at Jackson, and froze. But, he kept calm. He smiled, putting the book down.

"Excuse me," he began, his voice sounding very calm and gentle.

"I'm lost, can you tell me where I am?" he asked. Jackson nodded, lowering his rifle.

"Um… you're just outside of Hazlehurst, Mississippi." He said, frowning. The copper-haired man chuckled, nodding.

"Good to know! I'm Gunther." He said, extending a gloved hand. Jackson hesitantly shook it, Gunther's grip firm and causing Jackson to flinch. The two men began to converse, becoming rather close within only a few hours. Jackson spoke of his cousin overseas, and Gunther nodded.

"I know how that is. I have a cousin overseas, as well." He said with a sigh. He seemed tired, but managed to stay alert. He looked a good few years older than Jackson, probably in his thirties, whilst Jackson was in his early twenties.

"What're you doing around here?" he asked Gunther, setting his rifle against a tree and sitting down.

"Well, as I said, I'm lost. I went hiking, and forgot my compass." He said with a laugh. Jackson nodded, shrugging.

"I've done that before," he said with a chuckle.

"Good, then you know where I'm comin' from." Gunther replied with a grin.

The two became rather good friends over the course of weeks, and when Jackson was married to a lovely woman named Elizabeth, Gunther was his best man. Near the end of the war, Gunther was found to have been a Nazi scientist sent by Group 935, and Jackson never could accept that fact. His best friend, his hunting buddy, was a Nazi operative. That couldn't be right! But, there's no denying the mountains of evidence against him.

Jackson had joined a science team to go investigate different facilities, and gather the information and either destroy it or bring it back. He went to Der Riese, and realized this is where his friend used to work. Looking around, he saw the teleporters and began to examine them. He remembered seeing one of them on his property, but just thought it was something that his mind had made up. He examined it closely, seeing every little detail. It was such an odd machine, so very odd indeed. He began to read some files as well, hearing of a doctor named Edward Richtofen, whom used to work here. He thought for a moment, knowing that name, but not remembering from where. He sent the details of such findings back to HQ, and soon they were investigating all over Der Riese for signs of life and for any more information. It was all so very strange, but he'll never forget when he thought he saw some sort of lightning, and a figure stand before him in a Brigade fuhrer uniform, grinning widely with a bloodied knife, his eyes filled with madness. He had appeared for a moment, looked around, touched a button and left. Jackson had no explanation for what had occurred, but he considered it one of the less strange things to occur. He began to learn of 935's secrets, of the undead, and almost became obsessed with the thoughts of reanimation and destruction. It almost destroyed his marriage when he arrived home, but he managed to choose his wife over the horrible secrets of 935. He built a bunker underground near his property, and built a secret compartment for his journal entries he'd been making over the years. He stored them on shelves, and began to think of a plan for the future. He'd have to train someone one day to fight the undead, in case they ever arose in their little countryside town, but he'd need someone whom would be willing to stand up for what they believe in.

And so, he studied.

Within the years that passed, Jackson had a son named Oliver. Oliver grew to learn about science and to be rather studious, but not one of the strongest men. He knew about 935, but had sworn to keep it a secret. He knew how to defend himself and to make things like fishing poles from scrap objects, and to hunt and fish, but he wasn't a very loud voice. He wouldn't stand tall in a crowd and proclaim what he knew or believed in.

Years later, however, Oliver had a daughter.

That daughter is Bell.

She was smart, she was brave and she wasn't afraid. Oliver had been testing 115, and decided - against the will of his wife - that he needed to find a subject. He knew his daughter would be able to handle the effects, and so he injected her when she was sleeping one night with the odd chemical. When Jackson found out, he flew into a rage, but realized that she could be the person he trains. She could be the one he teaches how to hunt and fish and kill and defend herself from the undead, for since he had seen that man teleport, he had been having visions of a future with amazing technology, but all of it falling useless after some sort of a blackout. He decided that Bell would be the one to hopefully save them all from the wrath of the child he heard inside his head, laughing and mocking them all.

And so, it began.


	4. Questioning

I awoke with the start the next morning, forehead coated in a thick layer of cold sweat. I coughed, sitting up in my bed and looking around me. It was still raining outside, and I had just awoken from a nightmare. It was no longer the peaceful dream of me and Sophia having a conversation, her explaining what my role seemed to be, and I'd forget the details after awakening, but a nightmare, where a little girl was frozen on the moon and controlling those monsters I had spotted in the pasture and killed.

In it, she was crying as a man she addressed as her father began trying to comfort her, despite being separated by the walls of a pyramid device. She opened the device, and began to walk towards him. She was then told to "kill them all" as her father shot himself in the head. She then closed the walls of the device thereafter, causing two nearby scientists (known only as Schuster and Groph) to shout as the undead began to approach them, shuffling their limp feet and groaning.

"We are doomed," was the last thing Schuster said as my nightmare ended. In it, I had only been on the sidelines, trying to figure out what was going on as I watched a man with dark brown hair and deep, sapphire blue eyes lock the little girl named Samantha and her father inside a room, then laugh madly as he walked away to tell Schuster and Groph of the deed via a communications device, almost like modern day telephones. It seemed they had quite the amount of technology on their hands, if they could speak all the way from the moon to earth. Technology not known to the populace, obviously, as that could and possibly would cause massive defections in the middle of a war.

I pondered this dream as I went out to go find some more squirrels to cook for tonights dinner, deciding to go back to where I had found that device. It appeared in the dream, known as a Matter Transference Prototype, or a teleporter. As I wandered down the trail, I felt a cold chill around me. I knew it couldn't be a breeze, since the air was completely still and warm. I saw the pale, ghostly figure of a girl run down into the woods, and began to follow her, rather curiously, as I knew I had to have been the only person around until seeing her.

As I attempted to follow her, she seemed to vanish into thin air. I began to think, remembering the girl in my dream. No, it couldn't be her…

…Could it?

I shook off the questions from my mind and began to walk back to the teleporter, now determined to figure out how it worked. As soon as I arrived, the first thing I did was begin to discern what its main power source was. After all, it couldn't be powered by electricity, knowing how old it was. It'd have to be diesel or steam-powered at the very least. Though, if it was anything like inside my dream, it had to be powered by a mix of 115 and electricity. Both of which, no one I knew had access to, nor could find. 115 came in the form of rocks and meteorites, or liquefied or even cut into small pieces, while electricity was completely out of the question at the moment. So, eventually I'd have to find a new way to power it.

I sat down near the teleporter, trying to think when I felt a trembling in the earth beneath my feet. My first instinct was to grab my gun, and so I stood with the rifle raised, watching the teleporter to be sure it wasn't activated.

The next thing that occurred was completely unexpected.

I felt cold, dead hands grab me from behind, about to dig their nails into my throat as I pulled out my Swiss army knife, stabbing the monster in the eye. I got luck that time, I thought as I pried its hands off of me. The next thing I knew, more were rising and I needed to run. Shooting at the undead monsters, I ran into my house and locked the door. I opened one of the windows, beginning to fire at any that got close to the door. I watched as they fell, and soon there weren't any left. I walked outside, pinching my nose with one hand and using the other to drag them off of my porch. I dragged each corpse down into a dirt-covered area of the yard that was used to burn trash many years ago, and put them all in a pile.

Might as well put that gasoline I've been saving to good use.

I walked inside and grabbed the flint and steel, along with a can of gasoline. I soon was pouring the gasoline on the corpses, just about to light them when…


	5. The Letter He Wrote

"What're you doing?!"

I heard the all too familiar voice of Jenna-Rose. I flinched, knowing this must've looked like I had murdered a few men, and was trying to get rid of evidence. I turned around slowly, the 32-year-old woman standing there with her hands on her hips, her floral skirt wavering in the wind. I began to think of an explanation, but before I could speak she grabbed the flint and steel from my hands and lit the pile of bodies, just as one of the undead hands began to reach out from under the pile. Apparently, one was still alive… sort of, at least.

"There," Jenna-Rose said, frowning.

"Now, you can explain to me just what on earth you're doing, Bell." She said, acting more like an upset mother than a neighbor. I sighed, gesturing for her to follow me. I wouldn't be able to hide the teleporter forever, and it was best if I showed only a close friend.

As we made our way back into the forest, I began to inform her of the events that had occurred prior to today. She only nodded her head, sometimes telling me that what I was saying sounded like a mad womans ramblings. As we approached the teleporter, I noticed a figure in the distance. I squinted my eyes, it appearing to be a tall man with very light hair.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I asked, watching the figure walk away. As I spoke, it stopped. The man didn't turn around, and just kept walking. I began to walk towards him, but as I did, he faded from sight into thin air.

"…What just happened?" asked Jenna-Rose, her eyes wide. She had never experienced something of this sort, it seemed. I shrugged, turning back to her, her curled strawberry-blond hair looking almost completely red in the sunlight that streamed through the trees. I gestured to the teleporter, and let her examine it. She soon stood up, her eyes wider than ever.

"I… I've seen something like this, in my grandfathers old sketchbooks." She said, taken aback by the sight. I raised both eyebrows, hoping she wasn't just fooling around with me. I looked at her trembling hands, seeing she was now shaking all over from the shock of it all. She definitely knew something I didn't, and I was quite determined to find out what.

"Are you alright, Jenna-Rose?" I asked, stepping closer. She seemed frozen, but soon nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine. Would you like me to explain…?" she asked. I only nodded, now sitting down near where I had been earlier. She sat beside me, handing me my rifle. I stared at her, her ocean green eyes meeting my rather muddy, dark brown. She had grown to be like a sister to me over the years of living here, and the mere fact she was hiding something that could help me figure out what was going on wasn't amusing. Then again, I had never mentioned the teleporter to her, for fear the government might find out. After all, we all have secrets, and the last thing I wanted was for some National Guard men to come in and take the teleporter from me when I was trying to figure it out.

"Well, my grandfather, as you know, spent a lot of time researching the impossible, and attempting to make it possible." She began, her words somewhat stammered and delayed. She seemed to be figuring out how to put all of this into words, her form still shaking from earlier.

"He was good friends with a man by the name of doctor Richtofen, first name unknown to me." She said with a slight frown. I thought for a moment, remembering that name from somewhere, but not knowing from where exactly I had heard it. She continued, slowly getting more and more lost in thought with each sentence.

"He was also a relative, very distant, to a doctor Ludvig Maxis."

At this sentence, I cringed. I remembered Sophia mentioning a doctor Maxis in my dreams, and was starting to piece some puzzles together. Maybe she had some knowledge of 115 that would help in powering the teleporter?

After she began to explain how her grandfather had sketched out his friend, Richtofens, teleporter, she also explained how Richtofens letters gradually got more riddled with delusions and nonsensical words and concepts, as if he had gone mad. She began to tell me of how after a while, in the year 1942, Richtofen stopped sending letters. He stopped completely, and the two never spoke again. Two years later, her grandfather moved from Germany to America and soon started a new life here.

"So, do you know who this doctor Richtofen is, other than a scientist?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She shrugged, shaking her head.

"Not really, no. But Bell, I don't know if we should be meddling with these devices. They're dangerous, and in some letters I looked through, Richtofen would describe the gruesome results of some experiments where the teleporter would kill the thing that had been their test subject." She said, her eyes slightly wide. She really seemed against using the teleporters, but I was unfortunately rather stubborn, and had to, absolutely had to, figure out how they worked. I didn't care if it ended up my downfall in the end, I knew that if I could figure this out, it would answer a lot of the questions I had, including the ones that Sophia raised, especially as to why she was trying to warn me, and what - other than the undead - she was trying to exactly warn me of.

After a while in silence, I looked at the teleporter, my thoughts now racing. Who was this mysterious Doctor Richtofen? What part did he play in this story? After a while, I remembered the man in my dreams. He was tall, not too very muscular, quite thin, with thick brown hair and dark blue eyes. He wore a lab coat, and was addressed as Edward.

No…

Could he be…?

"Jenna-Rose," I began, but she cut me off.

"Call me Rosie or something, Jenna-Rose is too much a mouthful." She said with a chuckle. I nodded, noticing she was rather calm now.

"Rosie, did your grandfather ever, even once, write out doctor Richtofens full name? If he did, I'd like to know." I said, standing up and helping her up. She shook her head, dusting herself off.

"I don't recall. He had given me a suitcase of the letters, but never gave me the key. He said that a relative of the Dempsey family would have it in their storm cellar or something." She said with a shrug. I let my expression change into one of shock, and without speaking I knew she could guess what I was thinking, and we both ran up the hill and to a place not far from my house, where a trap door sat, buried underneath some grass and leaves. I opened it, and we both trudged down the stairs.

When I turned on the overhead light, the room was full of shelves of canned foods, all with labels indicating what they were, and there were various bottles of water, and some crates labeled with a symbol I had seen my entire life. My grandfather used to take me here to help him stock up on supplies, and I was told not to let anyone know of it, since it was built for our family, but I had to let Jenna-Rose know of this place. After all, close friends needed to stick together.

I soon located one of the crates, and Jenna-Rose knelt down next to me as we opened it. It had such an odd symbol, but I recognized it from both dreams and seeing it so often.

"935…?" Jenna-Rose said out loud, seeing the numbers. I nodded, looking at her.

"Yeah, my grandfather was a scientist sent to check out a place in Breslau where Group 935 was located. They were a research organization for the Nazis." I explained, digging through the crate. I found an old box, and upon looking through it, we only found some dried fruits and some paper. I sighed, now putting the lid back on the crate and beginning to look through more. After an hour or so of digging through various items, we finally located a small box, and when shaken, it sounded like something made of either brass or metal, was inside. I opened the box, and there was a small key. I handed it to her, then set the box down and walked out of the storm cellar, shutting off the light.

We made our way to her house, and soon she was looking through various drawers and cupboards, and through various boxes filled with newspaper to find what she was looking for. She soon walked into the living room with a rather large suitcase, setting it down on her coffee table and inserting the key.

Perfect fit.

We heard the satisfying click of the key, and began to carefully open the suitcase. While under normal circumstances, I would start digging through every letter, these were very old and delicate, and somewhat dusty, so we couldn't just do such a thing. I helped her leaf through them a bit, and soon we located one he had received from doctor Richtofen.

"Zu: Alfred Morgenstern

Vom: Arzt Edward Richtofen"

The entire thing was in German, and it was written in handwriting that looked as if Richtofens hands had been shaking when writing. I looked at Jenna-Rose, whom was mouthing the words on the page, then turning to me.

"I don't speak a word of German, but I know this isn't your regular 'how do you do' letter." She said with a frown. I nodded, and began to examine it closer.

"It'll take me an hour to translate just the first paragraph, his handwriting is so, well, not quite neat, and some of the words I'm not familiar with." I said, setting the letter on the table. She nodded, getting up and grabbing a rather heavy book from the bookshelf. It was bound in leather and some of the bindings were starting to tear, it appearing rather old. She gently placed it on the table, and flipped open the cover.

"The old man wrote me a book of German, saying I'd need it one day, especially when I found the letters." She said, looking through the handwritten words and translations. The handwriting was very neat and clean, as if he knew he didn't need to rush when writing. She began to read some of the words, and I got a piece of paper and a pencil, the two of us beginning to translate the various words on the letter.

Many hours passed, and soon enough it was midnight. The clock, wound by gears and not relying on any electrical source, began to chime in the midnight hour. We both jumped, shocked by the sound. I looked up, staring outside the window. It was pitch black outside, and I knew I wasn't going across the street after having to kill undead monsters today. I then looked at the translations, having made several in case we messed up on anything. The one that appeared most accurate went as follows:

"To: Alfred Morgenstern

From: Doctor Edward Richtofen

I would like to confess of a deed which I have just committed.

I've done a heinous thing, but I do not feel sorrowful.

I've murdered a man, no, a rat, and an innocent, but I have my reasons.

I cannot make known the reasons, for fear our letters be intercepted.

All I am at liberty to say is this:

The Giant is compromised.

Operation Shield has failed, and my two confidants are probably dead.

This will be our last letter of communication, for I can hear them now.

I've unleashed monstrosities from the pits of our underworld.

Farewell, Mr. Morgenstern,

And may fate be kind to you,

As it has played some cruel tricks upon me."

Me and Jenna-Rose stared at each other after reading the letter, and I stood up.

"I saw what he did in my dream. He locked a man and his daughter in a room with a mutated monster, and left. He's a monster! How could he have done such a horrible thing?" I asked, now pacing the living room. Jenna-Rose looked out the window, and had to do a double-take, for what she saw couldn't even be possible.

"What?" I asked, looking in the same direction. We both ran to the window, and noticed one thing.

A dog with fiery eyes, and flames spewing from its back was staring back at us, it seeming to be breathing rather heavily.

****

(A/N: I apologize if the "to" and "from" aren't correct in German, as I'm not entirely fluent yet! But anyways, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter, and have a good day my dears!)


	6. The Hounds

"Look out!"

I heard Jenna-Rose shout, just as the creature outside the window pounced at the house. She had pulled me to the ground so we weren't in its direct path, and the window glass began to shatter. Covering our heads, we both yelped and looked up. I stood, but was tugged to the ground again as the monster rammed the window, attempting to enter through it. I looked at her, seeing her eyes were brimmed with tears from fear. I tried to keep my voice steady, but in truth, I was almost paralyzed in fear.

"Do you have a gun?" I asked, hearing more glass shatter and covering my head. She shook her head, and looked up. I cursed under my breath, and grabbed a nearby kitchen knife. It was one that usually would be used to cut meat and bread, so it was rather sharp. I stood at the window, clutching the handle and extending the knife, waiting. The beast once again charged, but this time was impaled in the skull by the weapon.

It didn't die.

Instead, it howled and moaned and backed up, blood dripping from the wound in its head.

"You didn't even make a dent!" Jenna-Rose shouted, backing into a nearby hallway. I turned my head, growling.

"Don't you think I know that!?" I spat, now turning my attention back to the hound outside the window. It charged again, this time its brain being hit by the knife. It stopped moving, and in an instant burst into flames, and the ground where it had been looked as if it had never existed.

Eyes wide, I sunk down onto the floor, letting my back rest against the cabinets under the sink. I looked at Jenna-Rose, her mouth agape and eyes wide as saucers. She grabbed another knife, and looked at the front door. We could hear a growl outside it, as if there were another.

"Oh, dear…" was all I managed to say, getting up and standing next to her. The candles flickered, the darkness unsettling as we stared in the direction of the door. She clutched her knife tighter, mumbling something that sounded like a quick prayer and then looking up. The door sounded as if it was being scratched upon, and we looked at each other.

"Should we open it?" she asked, seeming quite scared that she would probably have to open it. I shrugged.

"Depends. Do you want your front door knocked off its hinges?" I asked, frowning. She slowly and cautiously approached the front door, staring out the window. There was another hound, and it took all of her self control not to scream. She had seen things like this in horror movies, and it never faired well for the people that were defending themselves. She heard the door creak slightly, as if almost being forced open. She ran back to the kitchen, standing next to me and looking over.

"On the count of three, we stab it." She said. I stared at her, but before I could respond, the door opened and the monster ran towards us.

"One, two…" she began to shout, getting her knife ready to stab the monster.

"Three!" She plunged the knife down wards, just as it looked as if it was going to bite her. She managed to get it in the eye, but that wasn't enough. Out of shock, I managed to stab its other eye. We took the knives up, and plunged them deeper into the skull of the beast, which collapsed and soon burst into flame like the other. This method of stabbing wouldn't work. We'd be dead meat if we didn't find a gun soon! I looked around the house, but nothing was striking me as a good weapon against… whatever those monsters were. I looked at Jenna-Rose, whom stared back.

"I know. We're dead." She said, beginning to walk around in search of a better weapon as well. We heard another running to us, and jumped up onto some of the furniture, out of its reach. I couldn't stop feeling like this was the end, how we were going to die. Well, better than dying at the hands of some psychopath.

I couldn't help but notice Jenna-Rose was no longer at my side.

Panic began to creep into the back of my mind. Oh, no, what if the beast had gotten her when I wasn't looking?! I began to curse under my breath, just as I heard something very odd, and the beast fell and once more burst into flames.

I looked over at Jenna-Rose, whom was standing at the other end of the kitchen, holding a very odd looking weapon. It resembled a gun, with its trigger and shape, but it was painted red and had some sort of a gauge, and it shot a ball of green instead of bullets, and the sound was very unlike any weapon I had ever heard. She walked over, and we listened closely for any sign of more.

All we heard was the persistent sound of crickets and cicadas, along with other insects outside. Nothing like a beast charging at us with big, heavy paws.

She slowly approached the table I had climbed atop to avoid the monster, and helped me down. I looked at the weapon, and then at her.

"What's that thing?" I asked, gesturing at it. She shrugged, setting it down on the table.

"Grandpa left it in one of the boxes, along with some rounds. No clue what it's called, though." She said with a shrug, walking to the couch and sitting down. The candles were flickering, but they didn't provide just enough light for me to keep my fears at bay. I sunk down onto the couch and closed my eyes, hoping this whole blackout situation would end soon, but I knew that wasn't going to be a wish granted.

(A/N: Terribly sorry for not updating sooner! I've been rather busy in real life, since we're moving soon. I plan to update more often, and hopefully most chapters won't be as quickly thrown together as this. Please, review if you have the time! Thank you~ )


	7. Memories Of A Doctor

It was one of the rare, quieter days at 935.

Edward made his way down the different corridors of the large facility, grasping tightly to the files he held, keeping them clutched in his gloved hands. He needed to be sure he didn't run into anything and accidentally toss them all about, because picking the files up was a huge pain, and he really didn't feel like doing that today. He usually wasn't a clumsy man, but he was still getting used to the layout of the facility, and quite a few scientists enjoyed leaving things scattered about in the halls, which was funny to them because then, if they were around, they'd get to watch the new guy fall flat on his face.

He made his way towards the room at the end of the hall, knocking on the door and opening it soon after. A woman with raven black hair and bright, sky-blue eyes sat behind a desk, reading over files and sighing softly to herself, as if either daydreaming, or thinking she had better things to do, despite knowing she really didn't. The woman was dressed from head-to-toe in a rather formal suit, it consisting of a white blouse with a black jacket, and a rather long, black skirt and high-heels. She appeared very formal, but for good reason. She was, after all, Maxis' secretary.

Edward cleared his throat, and the woman looked up from her paperwork, one eyebrow raised. She seemed a rather pretty girl, with high cheekbones, but a rather young and feminine face. Her eyes were wide, and lined with thick lashes made longer by the amount of mascara she used. She was very slender, but Edward never saw her as a beautiful woman, for he didn't know much about her. He always reminded himself to look inside the mind and heart of a person, instead of their appearance, as his mother had burnt many lectures into his mind about being a good man and etcetera.

He approached the desk, setting the files down near her. She looked as if she was already bored with him, a frown upon her ruby-red lips. She took the file in her hands, reading over some of it and then looking up at him.

"I'll be sure that doctor Maxis gets this." She said, setting it aside on top of a pile of other files and folders that Maxis would later have to look through. Edward nodded, placing one hand on her desk, running the other ever so gingerly through his thick, brown hair.

"I'm sure you will, Frau Richardson." He said, grinning at her. She began to look through more files, her eyes drooping slightly. She had apparently not gotten quite a lot of sleep, as made evident by her shaking, fatigued hands. He sighed, not wanting to say anything as to not seem rude. He slowly exited the room, whistling a song to himself as he wandered down the halls. The facility was usually abuzz with scientists and new experiments, but today seemed a relaxed day, with no new scheduled experiments. He began to recall the recent days, them all having been quite interesting.

First, he had heard of some scientists getting a rather nasty case of homesickness, lamenting their homelands, and since they could not work through their woes they were sent to rest in their apartments in Der Riese and collect their thoughts, as they could not leave the facility.

Secondly, he had been assigned to work with doctor Ludvig Maxis, as he had proved his worth by even getting into the facility, as only well-trained doctors could ever get in, since the government wanted to be sure they had only the best and brightest. Maxis wasn't a kind man, and the two despised each other from the start of day one, even mocking each other quietly behind each others backs.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear, Edward thought as he looked over, seeing Maxis speaking with one of the scientists, both of them sipping from coffee cups. Maxis seemed to be having a rather casual conversation, and he turned to walk off when he noticed Edward. Stopping right on his heel, he raised an eyebrow, a small grin forming on his thin lips. He approached Edward slowly, opening his mouth to speak. Edward stayed still, waiting for words to form on his bosses lips, which he knew would burn like acid in his mind. Oh, how he loathed that man.

"Good day, Edward. I suppose you've finally given up on teleportation?" he asked, it being a mostly rhetorical question. He knew Edward wouldn't give up so easily on something he knew Maxis despised, for it was both their goals to aggravate each other as much as they could, all while still being professional and improving the human condition in any way they possibly could.

Edward only grinned, responding in a cool, calm voice.

"No, actually. Check the file I left in Sophias office. That is, if you're not too busy staring at her to notice any of your work." He said, his grin growing. Maxis's cheeks flushed a shade of scarlet, really hoping no one had found out about his infatuation with his secretary. He said nothing in response, choosing this time to be collected in his words, and began to storm off into the office down the hall. Edward began to walk calmly, a triumphant smile on his lips. He felt no shame or regret for what he said, even if it would cost him later.

Edward arrived in one of the testing labs, seeing his good friend and assistant Dr. Schuster standing there, reading over a clipboard repeatedly to be sure every word, every sentence was structured correctly, and not a detail was left out that shouldn't be. He seemed to be reading details of a previous experiment they had worked on together, and he didn't even notice Edward approaching him.

"Good day, doctor Schuster." Edwards words caused the scientist before him to jump, and when he noticed the doctor, he chuckled.

"Good Lord, Edward, you spooked me." He said with a smile, setting the clipboard aside. The smile faded from his face, replaced by a calmer expression.

"Did you get the files to Sophia yet?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Edward nodded, picking up the clipboard and reading it over.

"Ja, ja, I got them to her. She's going to give them to Maxis soon." He said, his eyes scanning over the details of a previous experiment. He then set the clipboard aside, as Schuster began to speak.

"Good. I hope that the doctor realizes what an asset teleportation truly is to our cause." He said, already knowing in his mind that that wouldn't happen. The two sat down at a nearby table. Edward chuckled, and began to converse with the fellow doctor, his British accent sounding so very odd in a facility where most doctors were from Germany. It was also a good change, in a way, since getting used to - and hearing - the same old thing over and over wasn't very fun after a while. Schuster was a rather tall man, around Edward's height, and he was also quite young, probably around 23 or so, and he was almost a complete enigma to most people in the facility. He didn't like to talk about his past a lot, and he preferred to keep to himself. He had brown hair that was just long enough to tuck behind his ears, and his eyes were very dark brown. He was fair-skinned, and he always kept a somber sort of expression instead of smiling around most people.

"So, doctor, what's our next move?" Schuster asked, shifting in his chair. Edward shrugged, just as the door was opened. A man in a rather long lab coat stood in the doorway, his piercing emerald-green eyes framed behind square, thin-rimmed glasses. He raised an eyebrow at the two, shutting the door and frowning.

"What are you two up to? I thought you had work to do." He said, his voice having a hint of annoyance in it, even if he didn't intend for it to. Edward smiled calmly, chuckling.

"Ah, doctor Groph, we were just discussing some of our latest inventions." He said. The one addressed as Groph, let his frown turn into a smirk as he approached the two, his arms folded over his chest.

"Oh? What inventions could you two have possibly made?" he asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down. Schuster looked at Groph, and only chuckled, letting Edward explain.

"Well, me and doctor Schuster here have created a wondrous device. What it is is simply an absurdity by most minds, but I'm sure you have the open-mindedness to allow at least a possibility of such a device into your mind." Edward said calmly. Groph looked over at Schuster, seeming a bit confused.

"Christopher, what is he talking about?" he asked. Schuster smiled at the doctor, and gestured for Edward to continue.

"I'm talking about teleportation, doctor Groph. Something that no one, and I mean no one, has ever done before. It is still a work in progress, but we're going to be conducting our first human experiment with it later this week." Edward explained, watching Grophs eyes widen.

"Preposterous. Such a thing can't be done, can it?" he asked, now seeming curious. Schuster nodded, raising a hand slightly.

"I was present when the first experiment was conducted. It can be done." He said. Groph seemed skeptical, but nodded slowly.

"Go on, explain how it works." He said, gesturing to Edward. The doctor nodded, and began to explain how it was powered by 115 along with other mechanisms they had pieced together. He also explained how Maxis had reacted to such a machine, even the remark he had made about 'putting all of our eggs in your walnut basket', at which Groph had to stifle a laugh.

"So you see, doctor Groph, such things are actually possible." Edward concluded. Groph only nodded, running his fingers through his thick, black hair.

"I see. And, you expect to have this method of transportation perfected by the end of the year, correct?" Groph once again raised an eyebrow. Edward laughed, shaking his head.

"No, silly Groph, that would be impossible, with the amount of work we all have, and with such little time left in the year! Why, Christmas is just around the corner." He said with a smile.

"But I can assure you, this is going to be the start of wondrous machines. I know that for a fact."


	8. Journals In The Storm Cellar

The morning after fending off those… whatever those hounds are called, I made my way over to my house. I quickly began to work on trying to figure out how all of this could have happened. All the monsters we've seen so far, all the bodies, all the darkness, all the clues, all the possibilities. I had not seen that woman in my dreams since she told me I had element 115 in my veins, which was quite shocking considering it was an element most people didn't even know existed.

I wandered to the storm cellar, and began to look through crates and boxes to see what I could find to help fend off any more if they appeared. It was about fifteen minutes later when I noticed a door behind several crates. I moved them out of the way, and began to open the heavy door. The air in the room was cold and musty, as if the door hadn't been opened for a very long time. A thick layer of dust was settled over the shelves and books in the room, and the shelves were all labeled.

"Personal Journals.

Research Journals.

Progress Log.

Memory Log."

I looked around, coughing as the air felt almost as if it was suffocating me. I stepped to the shelf labeled Research Journals, picking one at random and reading it.

"Day 62.

We're being sent to a place called Der Riese, in Breslau. I'm nervous of what we'll find, since the last place we went to still had some poor men and women stuck there. It wasn't a fun thing, seeing how malnourished they were and how much they wanted to get out. We even saw some kids who'd died there, their bodies piled in a corner. I'm starting to hate my job."

I recognized the handwriting as belonging to my grandfather, and read the next page, my thoughts racing. Der Riese… I had heard of that place once before, but I can't remember where.

"Day 63.

Found something sorta disturbing. One of the rooms had blood in it, lots, and was completely destroyed. Shelves were on the floor, things were crushed, it was pretty bad. We found an odd device that was said to be a Matter Transference Prototype, as recorded in a diary we found by a doctor Ludvig Maxis. Heard of him before, I think. Can't find a sign of life anywhere, but we did have to shoot some really monstrous, humanoid things that approached us when we entered the facility. The only word to describe them would be "zombies". They looked horrible, rotting flesh ripped from their bones with the bullets we fired. I hope I don't have to encounter any of them unarmed."

I flipped through a few more of the pages, until I found one that had something a lot more relevance to everything going on.

"Day 265.

Met a man today that was mentioned in one diary we had found in Der Riese. His name is Alfred Morgenstern, and he said he has something he'd like to say. I'm going to be meeting him later today, and in letters we've sent back and forth, he keeps stressing the urgency of what he's going to say. I can't help but wonder if he worked there."

I set the notebook aside and began to walk around, picking another off the shelf and turning to a page at random. My eyes widened at what I saw.

"July 18th, 1993.

That fool! How could he have injected her with the element?! That's one of the worst punishments known to man, and he knows what happened to those monsters after they had been injected! "All in the name of science" he says. That's insane! Science shouldn't involve an innocent child getting involved. Oliver truly is a foolish man, but I can't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, this is what I've been needing, since Oliver never was able enough to train for defending against the undead. Possibly, she is? No, she's too young. I'll wait a few years to help her prepare against the undead, if they ever do arise here."

What…?

I read the page over quite a few times, analyzing it, trying to gather every single detail. This couldn't be. No, no, no, no, this was not happening!

I continued to read through the diary, and soon found the fated words:

"Continued in Progress Log."

Grabbing the first book of the progress logs off the shelf, I flipped to the first page.

"August 10th, 1994.

She's complaining about when she stares at things too long, they become a yellowish gold. All I've told her is not to look at items or things too long. I'm still disappointed in what Oliver has done, but it cannot be helped. There's not a way to get the 115 out from her veins that wouldn't require excessive bleeding, and I could never do something so vile. Plus, the element is already to her brain at this point, and I don't want to cause her to endure head-trauma wounds from trying to be free of the element.

All I can do is hope for the best.

Oliver will likely pay his dues for this."

Oliver…

My fathers name.

I looked around, not realizing how much time had passed. When I had exited the cellar, the sky was already becoming a purplish orange hue with the approach of night. I shut the storm cellar door and walked to my house, when I heard an odd sound echo from the forest. I turned, just in time to catch a glimpse of a figure appearing in a bolt of light, right before I felt a throbbing in my head. I couldn't stand, the pain almost unbearable, it now in every part of my body. I collapsed onto the hard ground, a ringing in my ears and a pain in my body. I couldn't stay awake, the thoughts of painless sleep luring me into unconsciousness.


	9. Doctor Groph

The first thing I saw when I awoke was the light through the broken window of Jenna-Roses house.

The throbbing in my head had stopped, and I managed to open my eyes. I noticed a blurry figure approaching my friend from a room near the kitchen, the two of them speaking, their words muffled in my ears. As soon as they were done speaking, they turned to me. The figures were coming into focus, and the unfamiliar one was that of a man, tall with raven-black hair and bright, emerald-green eyes framed behind thin-rimmed glasses, and wearing a white lab coat which was stained in dried blood in various places. He looked at me, and approached slowly.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his accent thick, and quite German. I nodded, and attempted to stand up, but soon regretted my decision. The floors beneath my feet began to quake, and I soon found myself back on the couch, where I had been previously. He chuckled, patting my shoulder and kneeling down.

"Take it easy. You seem to have been affected by a magnetic pulse the teleporter can send out if close enough to water. While it does not affect electronics easily, it can affect human minds with the element in them. Your friend told me you have been injected with 115 before, is that correct?" he spoke in a calm, soft tone of voice. I nodded once again, and looked over at Jenna-Rose. Dark circles were starting to appear under her eyes, and face was a bit paler than usual. I was about to ask why she appeared so sickly, but heard the sound of the mans voice speaking.

"I am doctor Groph of Griffin Station. And, you are Bell Alerheim, correct? Your friend told me your name, I just need to be sure I remember correctly." He said, sitting down in a nearby chair. I nodded, and looked at Jenna-Rose.

"You OK?" I asked. She laughed, nodding.

"I'm perfectly fine. Just a bit tired." She said, waving her hand as if it were nothing. I gave her a long stare, wondering if she was telling me the truth, but soon shrugged and turned my attention back to Groph.

"Where are you from? I mean, before I passed out, I saw some lightning and a figure appear. Was that you?" I asked, watching the man closely. His hair was disheveled and he appeared like he had just gotten in a fight, his tie hanging almost like a loose rope around his neck and his lab coat torn at the bottom edges. Still, he maintained a calm and composed appearance nonetheless.

"I'm from Germany, but I cannot disclose the year." He said with a frown. He ran his gloved fingers through his hair, pulling it back from his face. He mumbled something about someone named Samantha, and then continued speaking after clearing his throat.

"I teleported myself here so that I was safe from the undead, but it appears nowhere is safe." He said, gesturing to the blood on the kitchen floor, which was staining the tiles. Jenna-Rose nodded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, what on earth _were_ those things?!" she asked, seeming a bit upset at the recent events. Groph sighed, seeming very nonchalant about all of this, as if we were asking about the weather or something so simple. It almost infuriated me how someone could be so calm about the recent turn of events, but I tried to keep a leveled head, which was nearly impossible. Biting my tongue as to not say anything I might regret, I let the man before us speak.

"Demon hounds. I'm not sure what to formally call them, but all you need to know is they are the result of a bad experiment." He explained, walking to a nearby light switch, flicking it up and down.

"Huh. Power's still out. Interesting." He said, placing his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. Jenna-Rose scoffed, sitting down in a chair opposite of his.

"Yeah, I told you last night, hun. It's been out for weeks now. Ain't comin back, either, or at least not that we know of." She said, straightening out her skirt. Groph sat back down in his chair, nodding.

"I understand. Sometimes events like this do have their little way of affecting the power lines." He said, fingers drumming on his leg. I nodded, getting up. I tried to ignore how the room was spinning, and walked over to a nearby drawer. I opened it, pulling out the weapon Jenna-Rose had used to kill those demon hounds the other night.

"What's _this _thing?" I asked, holding it up. Grophs eyes widened, and he got up from his chair. He began to approach me, taking the weapon and examining it.

"Is this…? No, no, it can't be. But it looks just like it! But, can it be…?" he mumbled to himself, examining it from all angles. After a moment, a wide smile crept onto his lips, one that made me flinch slightly. It was clear he didn't smile often.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, turning to Jenna-Rose. She shrugged.

"My grandfather put it in a box, and we recently found the key. No clue where he got it, though." She said with a chuckle. He set it on the counter, mumbling to himself in German. He walked back to his chair, mumbling about it and saying it was a weapon he had seen before, and soon enough I found myself frowning, quite curious to know what it was, considering it didn't look like it was even from this world.

"Tell us what _it_ is, then!" I finally blurted out. He looked up, his smile gone.

"It is a weapon created by a "_friend" _of mine. It was a weapon that was also worked on by doctor Porter." He said, hissing the word 'friend' as if he were speaking of someone he despised greatly. I decided not to ask about it, and continued to listen.

"Who's doctor Porter?" I asked. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"It is not important. What is important, is how your grandfather got ahold of this." He said, looking at Jenna-Rose.

"Said he brought it over from the war. He was a German immigrant, you know." She explained. He nodded, now mumbling once more to himself, before speaking up.

"And, was he a doctor of any sort?"

"No, he wasn't. At least, not to my knowledge. He did know a thing or two about physics an' chemistry, but he wasn't a scientist. He was friends with a doctor Richto… Rich… Richto something." She said with a shrug.

The silence that followed was so prominent, one could hear a pin drop.

"Richtofen?" Groph asked. Jenna-Rose snapped her fingers, smiling.

"Yeah, that's it! Did you know him?" she asked. Groph nodded, his expression grim.

"Oh, I knew him alright. I was a friend of his… he was a mad man, and a mad genius." He said, looking down at the coffee table.

"What happened to him?" Jenna-Rose asked, raising an eyebrow. He chuckled, shrugging.

"I don't know. The last time I heard from him, one of our plans went wrong and…" he stopped, then shook his head. He said it was something we didn't need to know, but these words made me even more curious. Why _wouldn't_ it be something we need to know at this point?

"Its nothing at all. Just a bad experiment."

"Uh-huh." I said, nodding slowly. The three of us conversed for a while, but my mind was almost too far away in thought to be of any use in conversation. What did he mean, 'bad experiment'? And, who is this doctor Richtofen that keeps appearing in letters and conversation?

**(A/N: I apologize for the low quality of this chapter, as it was rather rushed. I'm trying to update with four at a time, but since we're moving in three weeks, its gonna be a bit difficult. Hope you liked it! Please, if you have the time, review! Thanks!)**


	10. Hard To Believe

The day went on rather well for us, sort of. Doctor Groph was trying to explain to us where he came from, and I could hardly believe him.

"You see, I was born in 1918 in Germany, just near the end of the war. I know that sounds insane to you, but hear me out," he said, chuckling slightly.

"I teleported here, using that device that was placed on your property, Frau Alerheim." He said, his hands shoved into his lab coat pockets.

"Teleportation? That's some anti-aging cream." I muttered under my breath, not completely believing him. I mean, how could someone from 1942 teleport into 2013? Well, then again, he had appeared out of nowhere on the property, and knew what that odd weapon was, and knew who doctor Richtofen was. All of these facts almost proved he was from the era he claimed to be from. Almost. I was still skeptical, but of course, I am going to be. Something like this has never occurred in reported history.

He frowned, rolling his eyes.

"Right. Anyways, I worked under doctor Ludvig Maxis of Group 935 for a short while, and was the one whom would take files back and forth between the experiments I conducted with doctor Schuster, and to Sophia to get them to doctor Maxis." He explained, sipping from a glass of water. My eyes kept being drawn to the flecks of blood on his lab coat, and to the cracks on his glasses lenses. He seemed so calm about all of this, oddly enough.

"And what about the blood, huh? Where'd that come from?" I asked, gesturing to him. He laughed, and stared at me.

"Well, you've fought them too, right? The zombies?" He asked. I froze, and hesitantly nodded.

"Then you know where all of the blood came from. I've been fighting them for a good while now, and sadly my friend is still stuck there." He said, shaking his head.

"Friend?" I asked. I didn't mean to sound rude, but it was surprising he had another friend whom fought the undead as well. He nodded, his mood seeming to turn drastically from calm to one of some sort of regret.

"Yes, doctor Schuster. We worked together for some time, and when the zombies started appearing, we were the only two people in our location uninfected. We had to fight against them, and when I teleported here, I left him behind, unfortunately. I have no clue whether or not he is currently alive." Groph explained, his eyes downcast and his voice almost a mumble as he spoke. I nodded, walking around the nearby kitchen.

"Yeah, and what's up with those zombies, anyways? Where'd they come from?" Jenna-Rose asked, frowning. Groph shook his head, standing up and beginning to pace the living room.

"I don't know, Fraulein, all I can honestly say is that they're coming from the forest, but for what reason?" He questioned in a rhetorical fashion, my eyes locked on him as he paced. This was all so strange. We had recently had a world-wide blackout, and now this man comes along claiming to be from 1942, and brings with him the undead and demonic hounds. This was all too confusing.

As time went on, he began to mumble to himself, his words quiet and confusing. I stared at him, as he spoke of a child and of someone named Maxis. He seemed to be pacing faster as he spoke, until he came to an abrupt stop, and stared straight ahead of him at the wall. Without turning around, he spoke, his eyes seemingly glued to the blank wall in front of him.

"Have you ever heard of a man named doctor Maxis? I forget if we've spoken of him." He asked. Jenna-Rose shook her head, and stared up at me. I stood there, staring at the man.

"Yes, actually, I have." I said. He turned on his heel, his eyes staring at me like daggers of ice, boring into my very soul, sending a cold chill through my blood.

"When?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. I gulped, beginning to head for the door.

"In a letter I found, near where the teleporter is." I said, stepping out of the trailer and wandering across the street into my house, opening the door and beginning to leaf through some papers until I located the letter. I quickly shut the door behind me as I ran out of the house, and hurried back into Jenna-Roses home. I shut the door, and showed it to him. The letter I had located earlier that week, and the translation beside it. Groph scanned it, his eyes widening with each sentence.

_"Month, January. Day, 14th, 1942._

_I have been here under doctor Maxis's orders for quite a while now, and it appears the experiments are going well. I have learnt how to imitate the southern accent, and am working to get as much 115 through to the operatives in Der Riese via teleportation as fast as possible._

_-Gunther Weiss, M.D"_

We all stared down at the pieces of paper in his hand, and then looked at him.

"But wait," Groph said, setting them down on the coffee table and beginning to pace once more.

"What is it doing here? I remember Sophia receiving such a letter from Dr. Weiss." He asked, frowning. We both shrugged, before he stopped, turning to face us.

"What does it mean?" I asked, frowning. He seemed frozen, as he looked around.

"It means…" He began, sighing and sitting down in the nearby chair, face in palms. Me and Jenna-Rose stared, not completely getting it.

"It means that… someone else, someone other than me, other than anyone I know of, is trying to get here. And whomever it is, has access to the folders and files back in Der Riese, access to the research of Group 935. Access to all my years of hard work, along with the workings of Dr. Richtofen and Dr. Schuster." He said, biting on his bottom lip.

**(A/N: I am so sorry for not updating in such a long time. I've just moved, and we've been working on getting everything in this house set up and comfortable, and now I'm going to be busy with schoolwork, as we're getting started on putting me in a school. I hope you can forgive my lateness with these chapters! Hope you liked it, and if you did (and if you have the time), could you please leave a review letting me know what you think? It'd mean a lot. Thank you! )**


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